Sashay Saturday and Slide into Sunday

It has been an all pajama day! The most strenuous thing I have done is make lemon pound cake with a lemon glaze (low carbohydrate recipe). And it feels great. 

I probably should be out digging weeds, but I did that during the week before work and today is the first day I don't hurt everywhere. I'll try to do some tomorrow. Everything is growing like crazy because we have had a warm patch (above 80 degrees F.). The grass is so green that it reminds me of the time years ago when Emily said, "That grass is so green, it looks good enough to eat!"  Sorry if I have repeated myself there, but that line has always tickled me.
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I am grateful for small things today. Unwittingly, I used a medium mug and pushed "large" on my Keurig. The coffee was one drop away from spilling but didn't. Phew! I have tried Intelliblends because they seem cheaper. The name of the blend I drink is "Maud's Tall Dark and Handsome," lol.

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I couldn't resist taking this picture of the Library as I went to lunch on Friday. I'm always happy to see the flowers on the trees even if the pollen makes me seem as if I have a heavy cold. Seasonal allergies are an annoyance, but nothing compared to real illnesses. 

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Below is what the hot weather snap did to the tulips:

A woman at work confessed that she loves eating dandelion greens so I asked her if I should dig some up for her. (I noticed that I have quite a crop on the front lawn.) Now, I already knew that it's the leaf and not the root that people eat but I figured if I was going to harvest leaves, I might as well dig the whole thing up. She declined after informing me that she didn't want the roots. Since I don't even like arrugula, I'm not tempted to try dandelion greens. Heck, I don't even eat kale unless it's surrounded by sausage! 

A lot of people here have farm shares. And what's the first thing that comes in after lettuce? Kale, and it produces and produces all summer. If you leave your car unlocked, you may come back and find it filled with kale.  (A little later in the season, they add zucchini. I wonder if giving away vegetables is a punishable offense?)

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I also made jalapeno poppers the other day. The pepper halves were stuffed with cheese and bacon bits. No picture -- I ate them too fast! I was very proud of me for remembering to wear food gloves while I seeded and deveined the jalapenos.I really would hate to get pepper in my eyes. I just tried to add a tilda in the proper place over the "n" and it didn't work. It put the tilda to the side as if it were a letter. What good is that?

I'm also noticing that many of the letters have worn off the keyboard on my 'puter. It doesn't bother me which is a good thing because this is not a separate keyboard -- it's all in one on the laptop. I don't want to say this computer is old, but some of the warranty expired in 2013.

Also expired: my Justice of the Peace license. That's o.k., I wasn't doing any weddings. (Good thing: there could have been a lot of little bastards running around if I had.) It got to be a bit more time consuming than I wanted. I went rummaging in my j.p. bag to find the stamp which had the expiration date on in and found an uncashed check -- from two years ago. I wonder if they are still married ... 

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Sunday

Nothing exciting here today except for the thunderstorm and it has gone from 83 F. to 52 F. The rain is a bit chilly.

I decided to get gas for the car even though I still had 3 bars before empty on the gauge. After all, it had been three weeks since I gassed up. I love the hybrid!

After that, I figured I might as well get a few groceries ... two stores later, I had three bags full (baaa, baaa, black sheep). Of course, then it would be crazy to not cook something for the week. 

I did not cook a lot, but I did make crack slaw which is hamburger and cabbage sauteed. I decided to add some asian chili paste because I had to give away the siracha I had bought last week due to the inclusion of sugar. [Note to self: when testing hotness, take a smaller taste of asian chili paste straight from the jar.]

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I got a new book for my Kindle called Alternative Truths. Here's the blurb from Amazon: Alternative Truths is a look at the post-election America that is, or will be, or could be. We attach no manacles to the word truth to bind it to our visions. Instead we free it to find its own way through the minds of the two dozen writers who have shared their vision of the future in either sensitively written allegorical tales such as Relics by Louise Marley, a woman who grew up bucking hay in Montana and moved on to a talented musical performer and successful novelist; or the raw humor of Adam Troy-Castro in his Q & A, which takes on the verbal veracity of Donald J. Trump. This collection includes a thoughtful foreword by Rick Dunham other work by some of fandom's best loved writers.

I got it because Jim Wright has an essay in it, but I really like the others that I have read so far too. I'm becoming a big fan of Adam Troy-Castro. This is the first time in a long time that I'm actually reading a book (versus watching Netflix).

Speaking of Netflix, I finished Rosewood. I've moved on to Awake, which is about a police detective who was in a car accident with his wife and teenage son. After he recovers, he begins to live two realities: in one, his son has died and the wife lives. In the other reality, his wife has died and the son lives. When he goes to sleep, it's the other life upon waking. He even has a different psychiatrist (one man and one woman) in each reality. One of the psychiatrists is the Asian man who played a shrink on Law and Order. Obviously, I cannot remember the actor's name. Let me Google that. It's BD Wong. I've always liked his work. It's very intriguing and well written.


Have a wonderful week. Cheers!

Spring Sunday after Easter

I had a wonderful Easter! Both Deb and Emily drove to my house, we feasted, drank wine, talked, walked Brownie next door and had a lovely afternoon!

 And, yes, I have remembered to water my violas. Thanks, Girls!!

Wikipedia says pansies and violas are a sign that spring has arrived. It certainly has in my yard!

There are now fully open tulips, but I'm too lazy/tired to take another picture. I just spread 3 fifty pound bags of mulch. That reminds me: take ibuprophen. As you might be able to tell from the photo below, the azalea has opened more.

No, nobody is standing on the porch humming -- it's the BEES! Above are two separate bees. They kept moving so I wanted to be sure I got at least one good shot!

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You know that last picture of lunches and breakfasts all stacked up in the fridge? Yup, I did it again. I think I'm becoming obsessed ...

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I've been doing a bit of quilting. Actually, I'm only at the designing/piecing stage. I think I will send these out to be machine quilted by my friend, Jeanne. She can use the business. Repairs on her long arm machine were astronomical (although, now that I think of it, it was what I paid for one crown on a tooth. Ugh.).

 

I did something I had never done before and bought two charm packs of 5 inch pre-cut squares of fabric. (There's a quarter inch seam on each side so if you really want to know how big these are, you'll have to do some math.) These are the backs (so far) of two baby quilts. I figure the front will be really baby-like and when they get older, they can flip it over! Ohhh ... that reminds me: I should get some satin binding for the ends. Some babies love to feel that between their fingers. (Some adults too.)

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I procrastinated today watching a documentary on Josh Simpson making 100 pound Planets. He is my favorite glass worker-artist. Years ago, I bought one of his Planets for Mom and I asked for one for Christmas. They are very tiny (it was all I could afford). I think he was making this large one for the Corning Museum and there were all kinds of engineering challenges that he and his team faced. They even had to design their own tools for turning such a heavy hunk of molten glass in the furnace. If you get a chance to see it on PBS, it really was fascinating. Josh Simpson and his wife (an astronaut) live in Shelburne Falls inWestern Mass. (I live a few miles away in the sticks).

Josh Simpson and his huge planet (from his web site).

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Speaking of sticks, the next show was a sculptor who works entirely with sticks. He makes buildings and huge shapes, enlisting local volunteers. He puts up a scaffolding to make two story edifices. They are very interesting, but not my passion for sure.

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I have completely finished Shetland on Netflix and that makes me sad. I wanted more episodes. The island is a character itself. I just loved the shots of the sea and the cliffs. I have to go to the ocean soon. I really miss it.

I have to admit, though, it took me a long time to get used to their accents. It's lovely to the ear, but I'll be darned if I understood but half!

Ann visited yesterday and we tried Hell on Wheels while she did some hand sewing and I machine sewed. It begins in 1865 and concerns the construction of the railroad right after the Civil War. Ann turned to me and said, "I can't understand what they are saying!" It was a cross between a southern and western accent on the main character and there were many immigrants with various accents.  The ones who spoke really clear English were "the Indians." Maybe we were supposed to think they were speaking their own language.

I can't recommend it because it's very brutal and bloody in spots, but it seemed to be fairly authentic with the mud and disgustingly dirty "line" workers. They were digging ditches all day. I could just smell the sweat and mud. It was interesting to me to see that the workers lived in tents. I'm not sure if they moved them daily or weekly, but they seemed to move along with the track that was laid.

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I'm thinking of doing some baking, but I don't know if I'll get to it. If you think of it, check back -- might be more pictures. Cheers!

10 p.m. Addendum.  Look what I have to go with some coffee and Elementary!

Kristie's Peanut Butter Hero Cookies

Woo hoo!

Happy Palm Sunday

No, I cannot lie -- I skipped church. I never know what to do with the palms they distribute ... I'll be better next week.


I'm ready for the week.

On the left is curried chicken with broccoli, chicken thighs wrapped in bacon with roasted radishes (with a bit of bacon); the tall center container is cooked bacon; the right containers are quiche with ham on the bottom. The problem with using plastic containers is that you have to let everything cool before putting them into the container unless you want to melt the plastic! I have glass containers but they are heavy so I only use the smallest ones for my lunch.

Would you believe it? Seeing that there are only 4 lunches, I remembered that I had put a corned beef in the crock pot. It's right next to me and will be great for supper while I watch 60 Minutes.

 

How about them radishes?!

Last time I served someone radishes (in pot roast) they remarked that they must have been big radishes. They looked and tasted like new potatoes. So I thought I would show you that they are, indeed, large. You probably have already figured out that is a nip bottle of Patron ...

And I made Strange Blueberry Muffins. They are Kristie's recipe (Cooking Keto with Kristie) but I put some orange extract in because I didn't have blueberry. I like the flavor a lot even if it did spill in a bit more orange than I expected! I knew you would ask, so I took one for the team and tasted them: yummy!

I would have regaled you with pictures from Ann and my latest excellent adventure yesterday. But a very officious young docent requested that I take no pictures at the Smith College Museum of Art. We had gone to see the Oplontis exhibition. 

Originally, Ann was going to accompany me to Northampton to pick up my taxes from the accountant. (It has become a ritual, she did it last year too.) I decided that wasn't going to be very exciting, so I stopped at the Library and got the free pass to the museum -- not knowing it was a Community Day and it was free.

Oplontis was a seaside village made up of luxurious villas next to Pompeii.  You guessed it: it was covered in lava and people and houses were covered in lava. The excavation only really went forward when a university in Texas (I forget which one) got a grant and started the official excavation. They have uncovered about 100 rooms of what they think was a 200 room villa. The artifacts are amazing, some dating to 59 CE. I was blown away. 

Of three amphorae (the style of which Jesus used when He turned water into wine), one was evidence that they imported fish sauce from Portugal.  Who knew? And what did they use fish sauce for? Maybe it was their style of soy sauce. 

Ann was admiring the jewelry and then realized it had all come from skeletons. When I joined her in that corner, I looked up and someone had diagrammed exactly how and where those skeletons were positioned. Creepy. Although it was interesting that not only the rich had gold jewelry. I guess they would know forensically if the person had to work for a living.

It was amazing to me how many slaves they had. Of course, having taken Latin for so many years and spending a whole year with Julius Caesar, the warrior, I knew that they took slaves every time they conquered an area. And they conquered a lot. 

The exhibit included stone weights for a loom. A villa of this size would have slaves in the atrium weaving. They were there daily not only to make the woolen cloth, but to show visitors how well they took care of the household and how well they would treat visitors. 

There was a sun dial with its original brass piece which cast the shadow indicating the hour. The Roman day was divided into 12 hours and each hour was longer in the summer. Not good for the working stiffs.

I was trying to take a picture of a piece of flooring because I liked the design but also it is a traditional quilter's pattern. (The other floor had two recognizable patterns, but no pictures ...)

So you'll have to make do with my crude sketch. What you can almost read is my note: 'floor = opus sectile.' I remember that opus means work (as in a body of work), but I never had the word sectile.

 

They had activities for Community Day, many of which were designed to educate kids about volcanoes and the ancient Romans. 

They gave us golf pencils and we were supposed to check off when we found the statues shown on the paper above. Hmpf. They also had an olive oil tasting. It looked like really good bread -- Tuscan bread. I asked Ann what she thought of the olive oil and she said, "All I know is, that is really chewy bread!" They were giving out free little bags of kettle popcorn which was 'sweet and salty.' I have no idea why. And, finally, they had a whole bunch of jars with a shaker lid that opened. You smelled the scent and tried to guess what plant or flower it came from. This was 'Smells in a Roman Garden.'
 

Hands All Around Quilt Show

This is the 16th quilt show which is hung every two years. It's a long wait! It was held at UMass again. The cement floors are very hard on your feet and bones -- we walked around for almost 3 hours. But we got very good views because many people did not want to brave the slush and snow. It was raining by the time we got there after 1 p.m. and most of the snow had melted.

For Sharon

The chickens above were part of a round robin. A bunch of people get a pattern and instructions. In this case, they were told to make the chicken 'look like you,' and sign the block. When they next met, they brought their completed blocks and someone put them together. This was given to one of the women as a "Birthday Chicken Quilt."

 This one is called Crayon Box and I love the colors offset by the black!

This is by Elizabeth Sylvan (aka Betzi) and she is the one who taught me how to do a landscape quilt (Palm Springs Night). She has applied many metal objects here including a zipper, gears and gromets.

I really like the metallic threads used here.

 Yellow just makes me happy!

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You know how I was complaining about the snow and slush on April 1? Mom sent me this picture of the desert in bloom.